Time at Alabama Helped Safety Jaylen Key Develop Strong Work Ethic

Alabama safety Jaylen Key spoke to reporters Thursday at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine.

INDIANAPOLIS — Safety Jayken Key wanted to compete against many of the most talented football players in the world at Alabama.

"That was the whole part of my processes. I wanted to go against the best guys in the country," Key said Thursday.

The rigorous culture at Alabama has prepared Key to take the next step to accomplishing his NFL dreams. 

"There you got a target on your back pretty much every week," Key said. "You gotta come with your A-game every week."

This week, Key is participating in the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine. With the work ethic required to succeed in Tuscaloosa, Key feels confident he can take on the chaos of the pre-draft process.

"Just going from this place to this place from the All Star game, kinda doing the same process coming into the NFL Combine it's pretty rigorous," Key said. "Pretty much doing stuff all day. So I was kinda surprised a little bit, but kind of expected."

Key's time at Alabama has clearly had a profound impact on the type of player he is today.

"You gotta prepare different than probably anywhere else" Turner said. "From me going there, it taught me how to prepare for the game."

The intense preparation is what Key admires in one of the players he models his game after — Alabama product Minkah Fitzpatrick.

"Just the preparation he kinda brings to the game," Key said about Fitzpatrick. "It was the same thing when he was at Alabama."

Key will look to join Fitzpatrick in the NFL this April at the 2024 NFL Draft. One of the final steps in the pre-draft process will happen Friday for Key when he participates in drills at Lucas Oil Stadium.

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